Kidnapings Somalia

A Pakistani U.N. peacekeeper was wounded by a stray bullet and a French aid worker was kidnaped Saturday in the lawless Somali capital of Mogadishu, a U.N. spokesman said. Maj. Zubair Chattha said the Pakistani was being treated in the U.N. hospital. His condition was stable. An aid worker with the French charity International Action Against Hunger was being held by gunmen who seized him at a traffic circle in Mogadishu.

A top Somali faction leader promised to release four U.N. workers once his men are granted safe passage to escort the captives to the airport. Hussein Mohammed Aidid, chairman of a loose alliance of faction leaders opposed to the new government in Somalia, said from Ethiopia that a convoy carrying 11 international aid workers came under attack Tuesday because the local militia was not informed that the workers would be in the area.

Gunmen stormed a boat moored off northern Somalia and kidnapped five aid workers from the United Nations and European Union, officials said Saturday. U.N. officials were negotiating with Somali clan elders for their release. Those taken hostage Friday included Briton Dennis Cassidy, according to his employer, the European Union. With him were two employees of the U.N. Children's Fund, another from U.N. Habitat and one from the U.N. Office for Project Services, a U.N. source said.

U.N. officials sought the release of four foreign aid workers who were seized by gunmen during fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia's war-ravaged capital. Five other workers were freed early Wednesday and evacuated to neighboring Kenya. U.N. spokeswoman Sonya Laurence Green said the four missing U.N. employees--two Britons, an Algerian and a Belgian--"have not been precisely located" but are believed to be in the hands of Somali warlord Musa Sudi Yalahow.

Gunmen kidnaped two Italian aid workers Sunday, and an Egyptian peacekeeper was killed and another wounded in an ambush of their military convoy. Maj. Chris Budge, a U.N. spokesman, said aid workers Sergio Passatore and Gianfranco Stefan were kidnaped at Jowhar, about 50 miles north of Mogadishu. They were believed to be working for the Italian charity European Committee for Agricultural Training. The Egyptians were attacked on the bypass road linking U.N.

A top Somali faction leader promised to release four U.N. workers once his men are granted safe passage to escort the captives to the airport. Hussein Mohammed Aidid, chairman of a loose alliance of faction leaders opposed to the new government in Somalia, said from Ethiopia that a convoy carrying 11 international aid workers came under attack Tuesday because the local militia was not informed that the workers would be in the area.

A group of foreign staff members of the United Nations mission in Somalia were freed Sunday after negotiations with gunmen who took them hostage Saturday, U.N. sources said. The kidnapers had demanded money that they said they were owed by the United Nations. It was not clear on what grounds they had agreed to free the hostages. Among those held was chief transport officer Ray Botham, who was back at work Sunday, apparently unharmed. Somali sources said five people had been held, but a U.N.

Gunmen have freed two fish traders from France and Belgium kidnaped Wednesday in northeast Somalia, a U.N. spokesman told reporters Sunday. The two men were identified as Frenchman Maurice Christian and Belgian Walter Kemos. Another Frenchman, 21-year-old Marc Rudy, working with a French humanitarian group, was still being held after being kidnaped Saturday in Mogadishu, reportedly by former employees of the aid group demanding compensation for the loss of their jobs.

Kidnapers released an Associated Press correspondent 20 days after seizing her from a car in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Tina Susman, 35, was in good health. News of the June 18 kidnaping had been withheld by news organizations to facilitate attempts to secure her release. Her abductors initially demanded $300,000, then lower amounts, but AP said no ransom was paid. Susman's captors allowed her to receive food, books and bottled water, and to send and receive written messages.

U.N. officials sought the release of four foreign aid workers who were seized by gunmen during fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia's war-ravaged capital. Five other workers were freed early Wednesday and evacuated to neighboring Kenya. U.N. spokeswoman Sonya Laurence Green said the four missing U.N. employees--two Britons, an Algerian and a Belgian--"have not been precisely located" but are believed to be in the hands of Somali warlord Musa Sudi Yalahow.

Gunmen stormed a boat moored off northern Somalia and kidnapped five aid workers from the United Nations and European Union, officials said Saturday. U.N. officials were negotiating with Somali clan elders for their release. Those taken hostage Friday included Briton Dennis Cassidy, according to his employer, the European Union. With him were two employees of the U.N. Children's Fund, another from U.N. Habitat and one from the U.N. Office for Project Services, a U.N. source said.

Villagers rescued five kidnapped aid workers in Somalia in a gun battle that left one village boy in a coma, UNICEF workers said Friday. Police took the 10 kidnappers into custody, said Pierce Gerety, the relief agency's Nairobi-based Somalia representative. The five aid workers--one each from the United States, Britain, Nepal, India and Sudan--were abducted Thursday.

Five U.N. aid workers were kidnapped at a regional airport in Somalia, according to U.N. spokesman Ahmed Fawzi, who declined to release the captives' names. He said four of the captives work for UNICEF and one works for the World Health Organization. Fawzi said the workers are from the United States, Britain, Nepal, India and Sudan. The kidnapping occurred at the air base in Balidogle, southwest of the capital, Mogadishu. U.N.

A group of foreign staff members of the United Nations mission in Somalia were freed Sunday after negotiations with gunmen who took them hostage Saturday, U.N. sources said. The kidnapers had demanded money that they said they were owed by the United Nations. It was not clear on what grounds they had agreed to free the hostages. Among those held was chief transport officer Ray Botham, who was back at work Sunday, apparently unharmed. Somali sources said five people had been held, but a U.N.

Nearly a dozen aid agencies suspended non-emergency operations indefinitely in the Somali capital Thursday after kidnapers failed to free a French aid worker held for four weeks. The non-governmental organizations, hanging on in this lawless city devastated by clan warfare, said they closed their doors at sundown until 24-year-old Rudy Marq is freed.

Gunmen have freed two fish traders from France and Belgium kidnaped Wednesday in northeast Somalia, a U.N. spokesman told reporters Sunday. The two men were identified as Frenchman Maurice Christian and Belgian Walter Kemos. Another Frenchman, 21-year-old Marc Rudy, working with a French humanitarian group, was still being held after being kidnaped Saturday in Mogadishu, reportedly by former employees of the aid group demanding compensation for the loss of their jobs.

Nearly a dozen aid agencies suspended non-emergency operations indefinitely in the Somali capital Thursday after kidnapers failed to free a French aid worker held for four weeks. The non-governmental organizations, hanging on in this lawless city devastated by clan warfare, said they closed their doors at sundown until 24-year-old Rudy Marq is freed.

Five U.N. aid workers were kidnapped at a regional airport in Somalia, according to U.N. spokesman Ahmed Fawzi, who declined to release the captives' names. He said four of the captives work for UNICEF and one works for the World Health Organization. Fawzi said the workers are from the United States, Britain, Nepal, India and Sudan. The kidnapping occurred at the air base in Balidogle, southwest of the capital, Mogadishu. U.N.

A Pakistani U.N. peacekeeper was wounded by a stray bullet and a French aid worker was kidnaped Saturday in the lawless Somali capital of Mogadishu, a U.N. spokesman said. Maj. Zubair Chattha said the Pakistani was being treated in the U.N. hospital. His condition was stable. An aid worker with the French charity International Action Against Hunger was being held by gunmen who seized him at a traffic circle in Mogadishu.

Kidnapers released an Associated Press correspondent 20 days after seizing her from a car in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Tina Susman, 35, was in good health. News of the June 18 kidnaping had been withheld by news organizations to facilitate attempts to secure her release. Her abductors initially demanded $300,000, then lower amounts, but AP said no ransom was paid. Susman's captors allowed her to receive food, books and bottled water, and to send and receive written messages.